Ward. — Migration of the Sockeye Salmon 399 



yet It is confined in fact to a few places, or even to a single 

 stretch of the shore or a single small inlet, even though other 

 points seem to the observer to be equally favorable. In other 

 words, the choice of a spawning ground is precise and definite 

 In both of these crucial choices, I think the salmon is in- 

 fluenced primarily by temperature conditions, and I propose 

 now to set forth briefly some of the evidence that leads me 

 to support this view; and then to consider the practical bear 

 ing of these views on the problems of salmon culture and 

 conservation. Out of many localities studied, I select two 

 for detailed consideration. 



Clear Creek, a small tributary of the Copper River, empties 

 into the easternmost channel of the river, a few miles above 

 its mouth. At the time of our first visit, July 22, the red 

 salmon were schooling in considerable numbers in every pool 

 along the lower course of the creek. There is no lake at any 

 point on the creek. Near the mountains the stream is marshy, 

 sluggish and shallow; but from the moment it leaves this area 

 it is a winding stream with alternating deeper pools and shal- 

 lows, all with a gravel bottom. Not a single red salmon was 

 seen above the point where the stream came from the broader, 

 shallower and more sluggish area and there was no trace of 

 previous spawning above this point. However, from a point 

 a few yards below that area throughout the more swiftly flow- 

 ing section of the stream, salmon were abundant nearly up to 

 its junction with the Copper where the waters were deeper 

 and quieter. We also found the fish spawning here on our 

 return from the trip inland. There was, however, at that date, 

 September 6, no opportunity to examine the stream more in 

 detail. 



This statement of conditions shows clearly and strikingly 

 how Clear Creek differs from the ordinary spawning ground 

 of the red salmon. Here the fish are spawning not in a lake 

 but in the stream itself. Furthermore, they have not picked 

 out the slower and more quiet portions of the water course 

 but are found only in those parts which have a steady and 



